This paper aims to show how Canadian hiring policies affect, and actually impede, the creation and maintenance of "speech" communication programs in Canada. The paper notes that when Canadians think "communication" they think media or mass communication--which makes sense since few Canadian universities teach courses in speech communication, or even know what they are. The paper first gives an overview of the Canadian perspective, then follows with an explanation of Canadian hiring policies and how they impact the establishment and development of communication departments. Finally, the paper discusses implications for speech communication departments, for example, the possibility of relocating speech communication courses to business administration programs, and concludes that the future is bleak for the development of speech communication courses and programs in Canada. (NKA)